Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera in the works for UFC Fight Night 21

A potential middleweight slugfest between veterans Nate Quarry (12-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) and Jorge Rivera (17-7 MMA, 6-5 UFC) is in the works for the as-yet-unannounced UFC Fight Night 21 in March.

MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned that the organization is targeting the matchup for the March 31 event, and at least one fighter has verbally agreed to the contest.

UFC Fight Night 21 is expected to take place in North Carolina and serve as the programming lead-in on Spike TV for the debut episode of “The Ultimate Fighter 11.”

Quarry fights for the first time since a September win over Tim Credeur in a highly entertaining contest that many observers felt belonged in “2009 Fight of the Year” discussion. The win improved “Rock” to 4-1 in his past five contests. Quarry’s lone loss during that stretch came to top middleweight contender Demian Maia.

A cast member of the original season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Quarry has fought on Spike TV four times during his professional career.

Meanwhile, Rivera returns to action for the first time since an October win over Rob Kimmons at UFC 104. The win was Rivera’s second in a row and moved “El Conquistador” to 3-1 in his past four fights.

Rivera turns 38 in February, and after signing a new four-fight deal this past summer, the Massachusetts resident suggested to MMAjunkie.com Radio that the contract may be his last.

“I think this might be my last year,” said. “I just want to buckle down, push real hard for this one year, and see what I can do.”

The two fighters have 29 career wins between them, and 18 of the results have come via knockout or TKO.

The Quarry vs. Rivera fight is the first bout rumored for the March 31 card.

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